Nobody has a body to die for. Safe sex is always better!
The fact is that anyone who is having sex can pick up a sexually transmitted disease/infection (STD/STI). Whether you're young or old, straight or gay, do it once in a while or all night every night, unprotected sex will put you at risk of getting an STD/STI so it makes sense to make your sex safer.
What is Safe Sex?
Safe sex (also called safer sex or protected sex) is any sexual contact that does not involve any exchange of blood, semen or vaginal fluids. It’s all about being safer from STDs/STIs and from unwanted pregnancy. Condoms, latex gloves and dams are the only ways to protect yourself and your partner from STDs/STIs while engaging in sexual activity, but they are not foolproof. You’ve got to use them correctly every time you have sex.
Safer sex is now a more preferred term rather than safe sex as sex can’t be guaranteed 100% safe. The best way to have safe sex is to be in a monogamous relationship (having only one partner) where neither of you is having sex outside of that relationship and where you are both free from STDs/STIs. Some people say that the only form of safer sex is to abstain totally (not to have sex at all) but most people would see this as being unrealistic.
What forms of sexual activity are safe?
Some safe sex activities (no exchange of body fluids) include:
- Caressing/Massaging
- Hugging Social/dry kissing (kissing with closed mouth)
- Rubbing against each other
- Masturbation
- Using sex toys (not shared)
- Kissing the body (not sexual areas)
- Fantasising
- Cyber/phone sex
It is often assumed that these kinds of activities are only a lead up to sexual intercourse (foreplay). But many people find that these safe forms of sexual activity are more than enough to express their emotions and love for each other.
Some safer sex activities (there is not likely to be an exchange of body fluids) include:
- French kissing
- Cunnilingus (made safer using a dam)
- Fellatio (made safer using a condom)
- Sex with a condom
The riskiest forms of sex and definitely not safe sex activities include:
- Anything that allows blood contact
- Sex without a condom
- Sharing unclean sex toys
- Getting body fluids, eg. semen, menstrual blood or urine, inside the body of the other person, eg. vagina or on open cuts
How to be safer
Use a condom every time you have sex. Only condoms provide 'all-in-one' protection against unintended pregnancy and most STD/STIs, including HIV. Condoms and dams should also be used when engaging in oral sex.
It seems obvious, but the more sexual partners you have the more chance you have of getting an STD/STI - so be careful who you sleep with.
Just because you've been with someone for a while, don't give up using a condom until you've both had a check-up. Some of the most common STD/STIs have no noticeable symptoms, so it's best to be sure, before you decide you don't need condoms any more. Don't forget to use another form of contraception to avoid unintended pregnancies.
Always carry condoms with you when you go out, not just when you are going to a party or a club. Sex isn't something you always plan in advance.